Trip Report Cycling through Celebration, a cream cheese covered remote and the Closed Wallet Rebellion of 2016.

So last week we spent seven nights in a one-bedroom at Saratoga Springs Resort in the Congress Park section. We like Congress Park and have stayed in that section before. The walk over to Disney Springs is fun and since the new section just opened with several new shops and restaurants, we walked over several times during the week.
I think the first evening there is when I declared the wallet closed and decided to try to save a dollar or two this trip. What started it was sticker shock at some of the prices I was seeing.
But let's start at the beginning and I'll go into more detail later.
We got an early start and arrived to WDW via the 535 entrance to Hotel Plaza Blvd.:

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epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
lostpro9het said:
Awesome! We have the same tag. My wife and I are also alums of NGCSU( '04 & '06)!
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It is indeed a small world. She loved NGC but did attend most classes at the Gainesville campus instead of Dahlonega. It took a few years going at night, but well worth the time and effort.
I went to Piedmont College in Demorest. Loved every minute of that experience, except for paying for it. In most of my classes, I was the oldest person in the class, including the professors. Between semesters I would see fellow classmates who were complaining, saying stuff like "Can you believe it is almost time for classes to start back?" To which I always enthusiastically responded, "Yeah, I can hardly wait!" Different perspectives for certain.
 
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epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Zipitidoda said:
Thank you for tagging me @epcotisbest !! I can't wait to read your report!!

Funny thing, I was going to add to my pre-trip report today and tag you for some information because I know you've been to many places around the World and I needed some guidance. :)
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I will certainly answer any questions I can, and those I don't know, I'll just make something up and pretend to know!
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tag! Loving the report and I totally agree on Little Debbie's!

As I'm reading this it's giving me a sense of relaxation which is not typical for a WDW trip report. I'm fascinated with your approach and love to know more about the bike trip to Celebration. How long is it? what type of roads/traffic?
Enjoying the photos and as far as I'm concerned you can't include too many.

Looking forward to more!
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
fractal said:
Thanks for the tag! Loving the report and I totally agree on Little Debbie's!

As I'm reading this it's giving me a sense of relaxation which is not typical for a WDW trip report. I'm fascinated with your approach and love to know more about the bike trip to Celebration. How long is it? what type of roads/traffic?
Enjoying the photos and as far as I'm concerned you can't include too many.

Looking forward to more!
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Oh, you can't ride from WDW to Celebration, way too much traffic and no bike lanes. We loaded them up and drove over then when finished riding around there loaded them back on the rack for the trip back to SSR. As for Celebration, it is very bike-friendly with lots of biking paths, very wide sidewalks and many very scenic walking, jogging and biking trails. There is bike rental there as well so you don't need to bring your own, but I ride a recumbent and bring ours since we drive down from Georgia.
There will be lots of photos from the Celebration ride coming up, so watch for that. This was another of our laid-back, no real agenda, pool lounging, just hanging out trips. I practiced my pool lounging technique often on this trip and read a couple of books too.
We used to have to come home from our WDW trips and recuperate for a few days. Now we come home rested, relaxed and de-stressed, which for us has become more important than theme park rides and shows. Spending much less too, so that is a bonus. Thanks for reading. Hope your family is well.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Ahhhh, your report and photos are making me soooo relaxed. :happy: Woody and I have tried to have non-park focused trips, but the lure of MK and Epcot right there is too hard for me to bear. (Notice I said me, not him!)

Having dinner with friends at Earl of Sandwich on Saturday, so we'll have five sandwiches to compare for flavor and quality...will let you know!
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tuvalu said:
Ahhhh, your report and photos are making me soooo relaxed. :happy: Woody and I have tried to have non-park focused trips, but the lure of MK and Epcot right there is too hard for me to bear. (Notice I said me, not him!)

Having dinner with friends at Earl of Sandwich on Saturday, so we'll have five sandwiches to compare for flavor and quality...will let you know!
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For us, the lure of the lounge chair overpowers the lure of the parks. I hear them loudly whispering (an oxymoron I just made up) to me, "Here I am just waiting to assist you in your pursuit of a midday nap."
I'm sure we just hit Earl at a bad time and the bread was just old and crumbly, but I think the better call would have been to toss it and get a fresh batch. As for the skimpy fillings, who knows? Enjoy.
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OK, so let's continue the ride through Celebration. The Farmer's Market is at the end of Sycamore Street just past the main community pool area. From there we took the trail around the lake behind downtown. It is a lovely, shaded area that hugs the lake and is so tranquil on a Sunday morning.

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Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
epcotisbest said:
Lots of wildlife along the trail and lots of scenic views. Plenty of early shade as well. The pathway was shared by locals, tourists, bikers, skaters, walkers and joggers, but not in large quantities to ever feel crowded at all.

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That view reminds me very much of the old Disney Institute, which has been repurposed as Saratoga Springs Resort. :) I attended a course at the DI while it was still operating. It was a pretty cool concept.
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tiggerish said:
That view reminds me very much of the old Disney Institute, which has been repurposed as Saratoga Springs Resort. :) I attended a course at the DI while it was still operating. It was a pretty cool concept.
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Always wanted to do that but never did. My wife looked in to some cooking classes there but we just never got around to doing it for some reason...oh, I remember. At that time we were always too busy at the parks, trying to do as much as possible, ride as many rides as we could, see as many shows, wear out shoes and get multiple blisters and sunburn.
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Made our way over to the main downtown area. This is the intersection with Front Street and Market Street. Looked at a condo there many years ago and did not act on it because of the strict short-term rental rules and that was how I planned to make it work, renting it out part of the year. Still regret not making that purchase.

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